Japanese destroyer Akigumo
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | |
| Laid down: | |
| Launched: | |
| Commissioned: | |
| Fate: | Sunk in action, 11 April 1944 |
| Struck: | 10 June 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 2,490 tons |
| Length: | 388 ft 9 in (118.5 m)(if a "Yugumo" unit, 119.3 m) |
| Beam: | 35 ft 5 in (10.8 m) |
| Draft: | 12 ft 4 in (3.8 m) |
| Speed: | 35 knots (65 km/h) |
| Complement: | 240 |
| Armament: | 6 × 5 in (127 mm) / 50 caliber DP guns, very probably reduced to 4 barrels in two twin turrets by 1944, two twin, by 1943 two triple and one twin, by 1944 four triple, one twin and several single 25 mm AA guns, up to 4 × 13 mm AA guns, 8 × 24 in torpedo tubes, 36 depth charges |
Akigumo (秋雲? "Autumn Clouds") was a destroyer of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
It is still debated whether she was the second unit of the Yugumo-class or the last (19th) ship of the preceding Kagero-class. After a well-known Japanese manufacturer of scale model ships started to offer an Akigumo kit corresponding to the Kagero-type, a vivid discussion by naval experts followed.
Some modern sources (Tamura, Todaka, repeated without proper discussion in www.combinedfleet.com and followed by said model ship manufacturer) now state Akigumo actually belonged to the Kagero-type but still fail to present convincing arguing or evidence. The assumption was originally made on speculation regarding the odd budgeting. Later, also fitting hints in the ship's building plans redrawn after the war (and thus being not authentical) were detected. But building data (laid down after Yugumo), naming (cloud series only used for Yugumo units) and the fact that she served with the otherwise pure Yugumo composed Destroyer Division 10 still make very good points to believe she was a Yugumo unit, as outlined in all classic and most recent sources (Fukui, Kizu, Maru Special - both editions -, Shuppan, Gakken Pictorial, Model Art Series). Moreover, technical differences (like the completely new electrical system in Yugumo as compared to Kagero) are not addressed by the authors of the new interpretation.
Tamura now also points out that mid-war modernisation of Akigumo supposedly included the landing of "X" turret in exchange for 25mm AA guns, a feature typical for Kagero (and earlier) class ships. However, the alleged conversion data are taken from (uncited) "documents", without any real evidence for corresponding actual work. And Tamura misses the point that clear photographic proof shows also that at least some Yugumo class ships were modernized the same way by 1944 (whereas especially newer ships mounted the increased light AA while retaining "X" turret). So, still no clarification is reached.
Finally, Tamura presents a photograph captioned "Akigumo in January 1944" showing the bridge of a Kagero type destroyer after installation of the E-27 passive radar system (published in Warship International Vol.41/3, p.283). Tamura fails, however, again to bring convincing evidence for the correct identification of the ship seen in that photo. If the picture really shows Akigumo, the matter would be settled in accordance with Tamura's speculations. But without proper background information, the mentioned photograph still raises more new questions rather than providing answers. Interestingly, those who claim that the ship has been mislabeled so far and must be counted with the Kagero class also fail to present a respective statement of the well-known surviving veteran Rear Admiral Chigusa who was the ship's first executive officer during her participation in the Pearl Harbor raid (screen of CarDiv 5, Shokaku and Zuikaku) and should know for sure the ship's type.
Akigumo served during the Pacific war in various theatres and by 1943/44 received the typical mid-war radar and AA refits, bringing the light AA outfit finally to four triple and one twin 25mm mounts, plus some singles, and mounting both the active type 22 and the passive type E-27 radars. On 11 April 1944, Akigumo was torpedoed and sunk by USS Redfin (SS-272) 30 miles (55 km) southeast of Zamboanga Peninsula, Philippines ().
Commanding Officers
Chief Equipping Officer - Cmdr. Terumichi Arimoto - 15 June 1941 - 27 September 1941
Cmdr. Terumichi Arimoto - 27 September 1941 - 24 December 1941
Cmdr. Shoohei Sooma - 24 December 1941 - 11 November 1943
Lt. Cmdr. Atsuo Iritono - 11 November 1943 - 11 April 1944 (KIA)
